EUGENE — A hot start for the Emerald Challengers was too much to overcome for the Roseburg Dr. Stewart’s at the Class AAA American Legion Baseball State Tournament on Tuesday night at Swede Johnson Stadium.
The Challengers jumped out to a 10-0 lead on the Docs in the semifinals and rode the advantage to a 13-5 victory to remain undefeated in the tournament. The loss ended the season for Dr. Stewart’s.
With the victory, the Challengers (50-6) are one win away from claiming their second state title in three seasons. The Eugene-based club will take on the Portland Barbers at 2 p.m. Wednesday for the championship. The Barbers need to beat the Challengers twice to win the title.
The winner of the Oregon state championship moves on to play in the Northwest Regional in Gillette, Wyoming, starting Aug. 2.
After a scoreless first inning, the Challengers capitalized on three Roseburg errors over the next two frames to build a 5-0 edge. Dr. Stewart’s starter Tristan Ledbetter couldn’t hold off the flood of offense in the fourth inning, giving up five more runs before getting relieved by Colton Siewell.
Ledbetter took the loss, giving up 10 runs on eight hits over 3 2/3 innings. The right-hander from Douglas High School walked four and struck out one.
Emerald starter Kyle Miller was lights out to start the game. The right-hander was perfect through the first three innings, retiring the first nine Roseburg hitters.
The Docs (21-17-1) broke through in the fourth with a trio of runs. Evan Martin, Waylon McKnight and Logan Anderson drove in runs to cut the deficit to seven.
Roseburg closed the gap to 10-5 in the fifth inning on a RBI groundout by Carson Dunn and a two-out single by Martin.
That’s as close as Dr. Stewart’s would get as the Challengers held Roseburg scoreless over the final two innings.
“(The Challengers) came out and did what they had to do. They put pressure on us early and it kind of shell-shocked us a little bit, but we were able to fight back like we’ve done the last four or five days,” Docs head coach Eric Savage said.
“It was the team coming together and deciding they weren’t going to give up. I’m just proud of our effort and proud of the run we made and it’s a good taste, but we know we’ve got to be better.”
Martin finished the game 2-for-3 with a pair of RBIs and Anderson was 2-for-4. The Challengers had four players with multiple hits, led by Easton McDonald, who was 2-for-3 with three RBIs.
Savage believes the Docs will lose about seven players from this summer’s roster. The team could return the core of the starting infield in Brooks Avery, Anderson and Martin.
The Docs will lose most of it’s talent in the outfield and behind the plate. Pitching depth is also a constant need for every coaching staff.
“I’m ready to go for next year. We’ll get fall ball going soon and get going. The plan is to be back here next year and advance,” Savage said.
Challengers 032 500 3 — 13 11 0
Dr. Stewart’s 000 320 0 — 5 8 4
Miller, Wooten (5), Ziolkowski (7) and Cook; Ledbetter, Siewell (4), J. Johnson (7), Withers (7) and Hubbard. W — Miller. L — Ledbetter (3-4). 2B — Starr (C), Crist (C), Watson (DS).
